Lever and link feed, worm-adjustable, sliding jaw wrench



Jan. 30, 1951 J. J. MCCOY LEVER AND LINK FEED, WORM-ADJUSTABLE, SLIDING JAW WRENCH Filed March 2, 1946 Patented Jan. 30, 1 9 51 7 I LEVER AND LINK FEED, WORM-ADJUST- ABLE, SLIDING JAW WRENCH James J. McCoy, Bremerton, Wash. Application March 2, 1946, Serial N0. 651,526

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in adjustable wrenches and the principal object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herein described, the jaws of which will firmly and securely grip the nut, bolt, pipe or another like object, to which the wrench is al plied.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wrench in which the jaws will retain their grip on such object until a catch, associated with the wrench, is released by the operator.

Another object of the invention is'to provide a wrench in which the jaws may be readily adjusted for application to various sizes of bolts and differen diameters of pipe, etc.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a wrench which is of simple construction, and which will not easily become damaged.

With the above more important objects in view, and such other objects as may become apparent as this s ecification proceeds, the invention consiss essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side'elevation of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same;

Figure 3 is an end View, taken in the plane of the line 3-3 in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken in the plane in the l ne 4- in Figur 1.

Like characters of reference are used to designae like par sin the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail. the invention consists of a guiding sleeve 5, configurated substantially as shown, and adapted to receive a pair of slidable jaw plates 6 and I. These plates protrude at one end of the sleeve and terminate in the conventional gripping jaws, as will be clearly apparent from the accompanying drawings.

The jaw plate 5 is provided on one side thereof with a toothed rack 8, the latter being in mesh with a worm B. This worm is positioned on a shaft Iii journalled in suitable brackets I I provided in the sleeve 5, the surface of the worm partially protruding on both sides of the sleeve through the slots 22.

The sleeve 5 is also formed with an integral handle 53, and with a pair of transversely aligned apertures I4. A lever 55, provided with a forked extremity i5, is formed With a pair of aligned bosses I? on the inner surfaces 58 of the forked 2 arms, these bosses bein in turn, rotatably positioned in the apertures I4 of the sleeve 5.

An eccentrically disposed pin I9 connects the bosses I! and defines a cam for actuating the jaw plate I. This actuation is accomplished by means of the connecting link 23, one end of which is rotatably positioned on the pin I9 between the bosses ll, while the remaining end thereof is pivoted by means of a pin 2| in a suitable recess 22 formed in the inner end of the jaw plate I.

It will be noted that the handle l3 and the lever I5 are of substantially semi-circular, crosssectional configuration, and that they are complementary to one another, as is best illustrated in the accompanying Figure 4.

The free end of the handle I3 carries a pivot pin 23, on which is positioned a tongue 24 formed with a pair of trunnions 25. The free end of the tongue is formed with a pair of spaced fingers 2E and a finger catch 21, whereby the tongue may be easily operated. A coil spring 28 is anchored at one end thereof to the mid-portion of the tongue 24, while its remaining end is secured to a pin 29, extending transversely through the handle I3.

Having thus described the construction of the invention, its method of operation will now be presented.

The jaw pate 6 is adjusted by rotating the worm 9, whereby said plate may be spaced further from or closer to the jaw plate I. The latter is opened by moving the lever I5 to the position indicated by the phantom lines 30, whereby the bosses I! and the associated cam pin I9 will be brought into the position shown by the phantom lines I3. Simultaneously, the jaw plate I will be drawn by the link 20 from the plate 6 into the sleeve 5, so that the wrench may be applied to a nut, bolt, etc, which is to be tightened.

After applying the wrench, the lever I5 is brought toward the handle I3, while the cam I9 will force the jaw 1 against the object between the jaws, and when the cam reaches a position almost at the dead center thereof, the end of the lever I5 will engage the tongue 24 between the fingers 26, thus locking the jaws in gripping position.

The grip of the jaws is released by simply separating the tongue 21 from the end of the lever l5, whereupon the lever may again be moved to the position 30. It will be noted that the spring 28 will automatically lock the jaws, when the lever and the handle are brought together. Whil in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

An adjustable wrench comprising in combination, a guiding sleeve, a pair of jaw plates slidable in said sleeve and protruding at one end 10 thereof; atoothed rack on one of said plates, an externally manipulable adjustment worm in said sleeve and in mesh with said rack, a handle secured to said sleeve, said sleeve also being formed with a pair of transversely aligned apertures, a lever, a forked extremity at one end of said lever, a pair of aligned cylindrical bosses on the inner surfaces of the arms of said forked extremity, said bosses being rotatable in said apertures, an eccentrically disposed pin connecting said bosses and comprising a cam, an inflexible link connecting the remaining one of said jaw plates and said pin, and means for releasably locking said lever on said handle, and said link and pin being within said sleeve.

JAMES J. McCOY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 396,877 Kennedy Jan. 29, 1889 432,079 Quinlan July 15, 1890 599,379 Billings Feb. 22, 1898 2,312,425 Le Piane Mar. 2, 1943 2,321,911 Heaton June 15, 1943 

